Recensione album

This was the Dictators' third album, and their second for Elektra/Asylum. The band was energized after returning from a tour of England and being embraced by the emerging punk rock audience over there. As a result, almost 90 percent of this album was recorded live and, as such, stands as a good example of what the band sounded like on a good night. "Faster & Louder," and the kickoff track, feature an unannounced guest appearance from Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals, while "Baby, Let's Twist" features guitar work far more sophisticated than the title would lead you to believe. The band may have still been trying to cast themselves as the next logical extension of the MC5 and the Stooges, but Andy Shernoff's songwriting (especially on tunes like "No Tomorrow," "Stay With Me," and "Borneo Jimmy") shows infinitely more craft than mere Motor City knockoffs. The playing is self-assured and solid, the production is simple, raw, and direct. In many ways, this is the Dictators' rockingest and most musical album.

Biografie

Formato(a): 1974, New York, NY

Genere: Alternativa

Anni di attività: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Formed in 1974, N.Y.C.'s Dictators were one of the finest and most influential proto-punk bands to walk the earth. Alternately reveling in and satirizing the wanton excesses of a rock & roll lifestyle and lowbrow culture (e.g., wrestling, TV, fast food), with their world-view defined by bassist/keyboardist and former fanzine publisher (Teenage Wasteland Gazette) Andy (occasionally Adny) Shernoff and renegade rock critic/theorist Richard Meltzer, the Dictators played loud, fast rock & roll...